Tessa made sure to cover each piece of cereal with a splash of milk. She spooned in a mouthful.
Lily patted her cereal into her milk, making the berries bounce like beach balls in a pool. “Tell me you weren’t serious about smell-tasting urine.”
Tessa tried to laugh, but she choked on her cereal and ended up coughing Cap’n Crunch all over her joggers. She stared down at her pants speckled with soggy Crunch Berries. Tessa felt an explosion of emotion, and rather than cry, she started laughing, and it was contagious. Once they both started giggling, they couldn’t stop. Tessa was a mess and practically homeless, but laughing with Lily stopped anxiety and sadness from making homes in her heart.
After three bowls of Cap’n Crunch and four episodes of Tessa’s favorite home-improvement show, she slouched into the couch cushions and patted her stomach. “I’m stuffed, and the roof of my mouth is completely raw. I couldn’t eat another Crunch Berry even if I wanted to.”
“I haven’t eaten this much cereal since that time in college when we stayed up all night trying to finish our English term papers.” Lily pushed out her tongue and poked it a few times. “My tongue is definitely raw. So what’s next for you? Have you given any more thought to your condo or looking at listings?”
Honeysuckle Hollow immediately came to mind, but she pushed it aside. “I’ve seen a few possibilities.” Tessa grabbed her notebook from the coffee table and flipped to the most recent list.
What should I do?
Don’t finish waffle.
Move home for weeks?
Sell my home? Mama: Yes. Lily: Yes. Anna: Yes, it’s a new opportunity.
Rehab project? Marty: No. Stick to what you know.
I could learn a new trade, couldn’t I? Anna: Depends on the trade.
Three people had already told her to sell her ruined condo. She closed the notebook. “I’m going to sell my condo.”
Lily whipped her head over to Tessa. “Seriously? Why are you just now mentioning this? Are you okay?”
Tessa shrugged. “Yes and no. You, Mama, and Anna all think it’s a smart idea. It doesn’t make sense to spend all that time and money repairing it, and if I’m honest with myself, I’m not sure it’s repairable. I’m fairly certain the insurance money wouldn’t even be enough to pay for new floors, much less anything else. You were right. It’s not my forever home. And according to Mr. Fleming, the HOA president, it’s nearly unanimous that everyone wants to sell to the developer. I don’t think I’d have much choice at this point.”
The evening wind blew through the open windows and pushed over the empty cereal box on the coffee table. Tessa breathed in the scent of strawberries and honeysuckle. She heaved herself off the couch and grabbed the cereal box. Then she carried their bowls to the sink and dropped the empty box into the recycling bin.
“I brought home a few listings. Do you want to look through them with me?” Tessa asked.
Lily hopped off the couch. “I’d love to. You know I love shopping.”
They crawled onto the bed and sat in the center while Tessa spread out the printed listings. Tessa had already organized them by preference with her first pick on top and her least favorite on the bottom. They flipped through the papers, and Tessa explained why she’d chosen each house, while Lily approved or disapproved the choice.
Lily picked up the last listing. “Tell me you aren’t considering buying Honeysuckle Hollow. It’s up the street from us, but it’s in awful shape.”
“No,” Tessa said, reaching for the paper. “The owner wants to sell, and she’s asked me to list it for her. I went over there to have a look, and it definitely needs work.”
“From the outside alone, it looks as though it needsa lotof work. I feel sorry for anyone who decides to undertake that renovation.” Lily glanced at the clock on the bedside table. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. “How did it get so late? I better get going. Rose has probably used her big brown eyes to manipulate her daddy into letting her stay up way past her bedtime. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was hyped up on sugar too.”
Tessa held the housing information for Honeysuckle Hollow. She hoped Mrs. Steele would invest in repairs. A flutter of excitement accompanied the thought of seeing Honeysuckle Hollow become a grand home again. She dropped the listing on her bed and walked Lily to the door.
Tessa returned to the bedroom to gather the papers from the bed, but a strong gust of wind, smelling of cloves and forest pines, blew in through the bedroom window. The papers lifted from the bed in a frenzied dance, and the picture of the Borellis on the dresser fell onto its glass face. Then the wind was gone, and the papers fluttered to the floor all over the bedroom. Tessa started gathering them when she heard the front door close again. She was sure she’d locked it behind Lily. Something heavy dropped against the living room floor.
Tessa peeked around the bedroom doorway, and her heart kicked into high gear. An intruder stood in the living room, just inside the front door, looking into the kitchen. Had he broken in using a credit card? Did that actually work? Did he own a fancy lock-picking kit? He didn’t appear to be in any hurry to ransack the apartment and steal her belongings. He also didn’t appear to notice her, but she couldn’t take her eyes off him.
His wavy almost-black hair was disheveled, and he had at least three days’ worth of stubble shadowing his handsome face. Even from a distance, she could see his eyes were icy blue. His clothes were rumpled like a man’s who’d been traveling for days. An army-green duffel bag lay beside his worn thick-soled boots. He looked like the leading man in a treasure-hunting movie. He stepped into the kitchen, and Tessa looked around the bedroom for a weapon. The only thing near enough to reach was a swollen copy of her high school yearbook still drying on the dresser. She grabbed it and tiptoed through the doorway.
The man picked up a cold pancake from the stack she’d left on the table. He tore it in half and took a bite. He gagged at the same moment he became aware of her presence and looked momentarily startled to see someone in the apartment with him. Tessa lifted the yearbook over her head as though she might throw it at him. He spit the partially chewed pancake piece into his hand, and they stared at each other in a silent standoff. Then he broke eye contact, walked to the kitchen sink, and washed his hands.
He turned to look at her. “Are you going to show me nostalgic pictures or beat me with that?”
Tessa lowered the yearbook and squeezed it against her chest. There was something familiar about his smile, about the way his lips tugged up on the right, creating a dimple in his cheek.
When she didn’t respond, he continued, “I’ve been smelling strawberry pancakes since I got off the plane. I followed the scent all the way to Mystic Water. They’re one of my favorites, but those are bloody awful.”
